Jan – Page 5 – What Do Mormons Believe?

Mormon Missionaries

This past week my family had a unique experience: On Wednesday we saw my little sister off to be a missionary in Chile, and then on Thursday we met my husband’s little brother at the airport as he returned from his mission in Brazil. To see the metamorphosis that these young men and women go through was incredible and I thought it might be interesting for some of our readers to know a bit more about these young people they see on bikes and street corners.

Elders (the young men) and Sisters (the young women) are addressed by their title and their last name. Mormons don’t all have the same first name.
Elders are generally between 19-21 years old. Sisters have to be at least 21. There are also “couple missionaries” who are married and already retired. They probably won’t tell you how old they are.
Elders serve for 2 years and Sisters serve for 18 months. Couples serve for 18 months as well.
Nearly all missionaries first go to the Missionary Training Center In Provo, Utah for a few weeks before they embark on their mission. There are 16 other MTCs throughout the world. They teach the basics of language and teaching techniques. Their language programs are so successful that several government organizations have approached the Mormon church to ask them what their secret is. Unfortunately, the secret is the Spirit and a very real manifestation of the gift of tongues. The State Department just can’t replicate that.
Missionaries don’t choose where they want to go. Otherwise, they would all end up in Venice, probably. They are called by members of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles who receive their direction from the Spirit.
Missionaries pay for themselves. They aren’t church sponsored and they aren’t paid for their service. They are very literally serving.
There were 54,494 missionaries serving in 348 missions throughout the world as of April 2009.
Missionaries always work in a companionship. There are usually two, sometimes three, missionaries who live together, eat together, work together and teach together. Nothing weird going on there, it is an extension of having two or more witnesses when they teach and testify.
Missionaries don’t date. If you want to talk to them because you are hoping they will ask you out, you are wasting your time.
The missionaries’ purpose is to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ to anyone who is interested. They talk about the restoration of the Gospel through Joseph Smith, the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how it applies to us directly, why we are here on the earth and what our purpose is eternally, and how to live a life in harmony with God. When you meet with the missionaries they will likely present a series of four to six lessons introducing gospel concepts.
When missionaries go home, they resume their normal lives. Then they date, go to school, get married, reminisce about their missions, and stop wearing ugly ties. In fact, if you have Mormon friends, ask them if they went on a mission. They might have some entertaining stories for you.

So next time you see a set of missionaries walking around, get to know them. (If they are wearing ugly ties, forgive them. They are only 19). They could be from anywhere in the world, and perhaps they were called to that mission just so that they could meet you.

Who gets to be saved?

Road to Heaven Q. I am a Christian and go to the First Christian Church here in town, am I wrong? I was wondering if you believe that I am damned to hell if I don’t switch to your Church.

Will you go to hell for not being a Mormon? Heavens no. You’ll get a heaven very much like the one that is taught in your church—a glorious place, beyond imagination, where Jesus Christ reigns and you live throughout eternity as an angel, singing praises to Him.

So why, you may ask, are you Mormons so insistent that everyone else join your church? I’ll tell you: “In [our] Father’s house there are many mansions” (John 14:2) and the heaven that most of Christianity is yearning for isn’t even all that the Father wants to give us. Even the very lowest level mansion (or kingdom) is beyond our imagination in terms of splendor and glory and beauty and happiness. But what He really intended for us for eternity is exaltation, not just salvation. He wants us to have eternal families—meaning you, your spouse and children will stay together as a family unit for eternity, not just until death. He wants us to return to Him, He wants us to have everything that He has.

Those blessings of exaltation are only available through living the Gospel valiantly, through the ordinances performed by His priesthood here on the earth, (which priesthood was restored through Joseph Smith) and, most importantly, through the atonement of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ came to earth to save us all. Not just the Lutherans or the Baptists or the Mormons. His atonement is big enough to save everyone who will come unto Him and accept His help (2 Nephi 26:23-28, 1 Cor. 15:22). However, if we reject His sufferings in our behalf, we will have to suffer for our sins ourselves (read about that here). But when all of the suffering is over and Christ’s work is done, salvation will be given to all.

The object of our Church and its doctrines is to make our entire existence joyful. Live on earth more compassionately and wisely, avoid unnecessary suffering and sin, enjoy our time in Paradise before we are resurrected because Christ will have already suffered for our sins, and then return to live with God forever, with our families. The alternative has a happy ending too, but with a lot of unnecessary sadness and misery on the way (and no families forever).

i want these guys forever — I want these guys forever

“Hath he commanded any that they should not partake of his salvation? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but he hath given it free for all men; and he that commanded his people that they should persuade all men to repentance.” (2 Nephi 26:27)

For more information on this incredible topic, read these:

D&C 76 (the vision given to Joseph Smith describing the kingdoms of glory)

D&C 19 (talks about suffering for sins—both Christ’s and what we will have to do if we don’t accept Him)

D&C 45 (Christ talking as our advocate before the Father)

“Salvation and Exaltation” by Russell M. Nelson (talks about the differences between the two)

“Our Father’s Plan – Big Enough for All of His Children” by Quentin L. Cook (talks about how Mormons are different from most other Christians in that they don’t see everyone but them going to hell)

“The Plan of Salvation”

Greatest Gift on Earth

present Think of the best gift you have ever received. Christmas, birthday, whatever. It was probably thoughtful, generous, useful, exactly what you needed even if you didn’t realize that you needed it. And that gift came from a person with limited resources, imperfect abilities to love completely and know your deepest needs.

Now think of the best gift you could ever receive–one from a loving heavenly parent with unlimited resources, perfect love, and such an intimate knowledge of who you are and what you need that it often surprises you. What gift would God give to you on a special day?

I’ll tell you and I want you to know up front that it is honestly the most important gift I have and will ever receive in this life.

The Gift of the Holy Ghost.

pentecost The gift of the Holy Ghost comes to you as part of your baptism. (For more information on baptism, look here.) It is God’s gift to you for your willingness to make a covenant to follow Him and it is the very thing that will help you receive the greatest gift He has to give: Eternal Life. The Gift of the Holy Ghost is a promise that the Holy Spirit will be your constant companion, as you live worthily. Let me belabor this a little bit: a member of the Godhead (and there are only three) is your constant companion, giving inspiration, guidance, protection, comfort, knowledge, reproofs (when needed), and spiritual gifts throughout the rest of your life.

Some of the ways that I have personally benefited from this gift are:

Protection – Even though this one happens less frequently than the others listed below, it is still important. If a place is not safe or a person should be avoided, He will communicate that to you. For me, it is a generally uneasy feeling, sort of nauseous. At other times, people hear a voice, as in “stop and turn around” or “don’t talk to that person”. The way the Holy Ghost communicates with each person is tailored to them. Remember, God knows how to reach each of us perfectly.
Avoiding Spiritual Dangers – Along the same lines as physical dangers, there are very real spiritual dangers surrounding us that the Holy Ghost points out to us before we get hurt. You could call it a Sin-Warning-Alert System. The Spirit lets you know when you are going to do something that will drive Him away, and when you feel His absence, you know that you have done something to drive him away, and need to repent. And the guilt doesn’t go away–you can’t just push through it and get through on the other side unscathed. The only way is to turn around, change the behavior or thoughts, and ask for forgiveness. Then the Spirit will return and so will the peace. The Holy Ghost is the instrument that helps us gauge if we are in good standing with the rest of the Godhead, or if we need to repent.
Comfort – This happens often. At times of tragedy, the feeling is strong and warm, like walking around being hugged all of the time. (This is why LDS funerals are usually somewhat uplifting and peaceful.) On my mission, I had a few opportunities, when I felt all alone in the world, to pray and find companionship and comfort. Even with daily weaknesses and shortcomings, the Holy Ghost provides comfort and reassurance to help you get back on your feet.
Guidance – I cannot understate how important this is to me. What should I major in? What should I do for a career? Where should I live? Who should I marry? When should I have children? God gives us our freedom to make choices, but it is so nice to be able to consult with Him and receive answers and direction through the Holy Ghost. As a member of the Godhead, they all work together and are one in purpose and direction, so though you pray to God (in the name of Christ), the Holy Ghost is the one bringing you the answers to your prayers.
Knowledge – As a student, this was key. I had to show that my schooling was important to me through studying, attending class, and taking it seriously, but the Holy Ghost sure made it easier for me to retain things, write my essays and take my tests. I know that it was the Holy Ghost because the times that I wasn’t doing everything that I should have (living all the commandments) and He couldn’t be with me, I was barely able to keep my head above water. This isn’t just worldly knowledge though–spiritual knowledge is related to us almost exclusively through the Gift of the Holy Ghost. If you have just been baptized and you feel like you don’t know anything about what you have just covenanted to do, don’t worry. Just keep studying and asking and the Holy Ghost will teach you. And it doesn’t take long to understand the gospel as long as you are sincere and dedicated.
Reproofs – For awhile in my young adult life, I felt like this was the only way that the Holy Ghost was speaking to me, but I am sure glad that He did. The Holy Ghost is like a warning alarm, letting us know when we are veering off of the path back to Heavenly Father. He either tells us to straighten up or else He has to leave us until we repent and are worthy again. Both ways are effective at getting us to seek God again. If, as a recipient of the Gift of the Holy Ghost, you find yourself feeling unhappy, listless, frustrated and dissatisfied when you used to be happy and satisfied, it may be that He had to leave you. So repent, get back on the path and you can enjoy His presence again. Remember how nice that felt?
Spiritual Gifts – Spiritual gifts follow the true church of Christ. There are the public gifts like the gift of tongues or of interpretation of tongues, prophecy or healing (which all exist in this Church. They are just special and sacred so we don’t broadcast them for everyone to see). But there are also personal, private gifts of the spirit: Faith, visions, discernment, beholding of angels, teaching and learning wisdom, etc. These gifts aren’t intended to convince anyone that God is there, they are rewards for believing that He is, and for blessing the lives of others (1 Corinthians 12). And they are wonderful.

So can you see why I say that the Holy Ghost is the greatest gift I have ever or will ever receive? Even my marriage and beautiful children aren’t going to benefit me if I can’t make it to heaven to live with them forever. The Holy Ghost is going to help me get there. God wants everyone to have this gift because He loves us all and wants us to return to live with Him again. You don’t have to believe me, you can ask Him directly and the sweet answer that will come to your heart is the Holy Ghost.

Missions of the Church

christ As a teenager, one of the things we were taught over and over was that the Church had a three-fold mission: Perfect the Saints, Proclaim the Gospel, Redeem the Dead. This is the basis of all of the programs, lessons, ordinances, callings and everythingness of the Church.

As I taught the gospel in Russia, however, I understood better that these weren’t three separate entities that we were supposed to divide our time and attention between. These are all part of the main mission of the church:
Bringing people to Christ. This is the ultimate goal of Christ’s church, and it applies to every person on the face of the earth.

Perfecting the Saints is the broad label given to all of the ordinances and activities of the Church. It comes from Christ’s directive both in Matthew and in the Book of Mormon to “Be ye therefore perfect, [even as I] or your Father in Heaven is perfect.” In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, believers and members of the Church are called “Saints”. Yes, just everyday people in the grocery store are Saints. In this context, Saints are those who are following Christ’s teachings and trying very hard to live as He has asked them to live. Perfecting the Saints is no easy task, and here are some of the ways that Saints cooperate with Christ in perfecting themselves:

Sincerely praying and studying the word of God.
Attending the temple to make covenants with God.
Attending weekly church meetings
Volunteering to serve in any number of “callings” in their congregation. From the leader of the congregation right down to the person collecting lesson manuals after class, everyone is donating their time, energy and talents to serve the Lord and each other. We don’t have a paid clergy.
Striving to have strong families through Family Home Evening, family prayer, family vacations, family meals, family reunions, and just generally supporting and loving each other in the family.
Living the commandments as found here, here and here.

We truly believe that in doing what Christ has asked us to do, we draw nearer to Him and as we are closer to Him, we are more perfect. That’s what this life is all about.

Proclaim the Gospel addresses the next group of people who need to come to Christ–those who aren’t already members of His church. The LDS Church has thousands of missionaries all over the world, teaching Christ’s doctrines to cossacks, Buddhists, ninjas and pygmies, and everyone else in between. Every single person on this earth is invited to come unto Christ and be perfected in Him. This aspect of Church activities is very much tied in with the first mission of perfecting the saints, because when a person is baptized into the church, they are one step closer to Christ.

Redeeming the Dead strikes people as one of the most bizarre of our doctrines. We do temple work for our deceased ancestors so that they can choose to accept the ordinances in the spirit world (if they wish to–our ordinances are not binding on them if they don’t want them). But in the context of bringing every single person to Christ, this practice fits perfectly. The church was restored on the earth in 1830, 1750 years after Christ’s Church and its authority disappeared from the earth. There were a lot of people in those 1750 years, and they are each, individually important to Christ. He atoned for them too, and if they are to benefit from His sacrifice, they need to do what He’s asked them to do to be admitted into His church (baptism by immersion, followed by higher ordinances and covenants). He asks members of His church to reach out to those who have passed on as well as to the living.

So that sums up all of the Church’s activities and programs. Christ wants us all to come unto Him and be perfected in Him. For members of the church, that involves living His commandments and serving others. Some of that service is directed at helping other people join His church also to come unto Him and be perfected in Him–living and dead.

Prophetic Prophets

I have been amazed as I have reviewed the addresses from our prophets and apostles during last General Conference (October, 2008). The Salt Lake City Temple They spoke right to the difficulties that were coming with the economic crisis and the backlash against the church for proposition 8. Even though I have long believed that they can see “down the hall and around the corner”, re-reading and listening to their talks confirmed it for me yet again.

And so I thought, these inspired men are such a blessing and a resource in my life–everyone should know what they are saying. Which, obviously, is the point of broadcasting General Conference. For those of you who are interested in what modern-day prophets and apostles are advising, here is a summary of the things that they have really emphasized lately:

Stay out of debt. Ezra Taft Benson spoke about this back in 1987! They have been warning us to avoid unnecessary debt for decades. Hmm, do you think they anticipated the calamitous financial crash of 2008? You betcha. It takes years to get out of debt, once you have accumulated it, so they gave us plenty of time to be free of it. Unnecessary debt is consumer debt. They say that the only things that are okay to take out loans for are school and a home. You should buy everything else when you can afford to buy it.
Stay away from pornography. The apostles and prophets started emphasizing this before the internet really made its public debut. David B. Haight spoke about it in 1984, referencing the magazines, books and movies that were addictive and destructive. Since then there has been a steady crescendo both in intensity and occurrence in warning people to stay away from pornography. “Avoid pornography as you would a plague” is sound advice. So many homes are broken by this addiction. It destroys relationships.
Store a year’s supply of food and have extra money on hand for hard times. The prophet and apostles have stressed self-sufficiency for, well, forever. They have advised us to accumulate everything that we would need for a year or more. Recently, with the talk of an upcoming flu pandemic, they have really stressed at least putting away a 3-month supply of food (the time it would take for the quarantine to be lifted). This is seriously important advice. EVERYONE needs to put away enough to live on for three months. Do it. Whether you are Mormon or not.
Be modest. Modesty in dress and speech and action demands respect and honor. This counsel is directed mostly at teens, but everyone benefits from this counsel. So many women are treated as objects both by men and other women–girls are advised to take back their self-respect by not presenting themselves as just a “body” to be admired, but a mind, heart, and soul–a complete person. Modesty protects. “Modest” doesn’t mean wrist and ankle-length clothing (though, undeniably, that is modest), it means covering your shoulders and cleavage. Not wearing anything too high (much above the knee) or too low or too tight (all of this applies to boys too). Tattoos and multiple piercings are also in this category. Any time you wear something that attracts all of a person’s attention to your body, that is immodest.
Law of Health (Word of Wisdom). This has been reiterated since the time of Joseph Smith. The Word of Wisdom has been addressed on this blog before, but basically there are do’s and don’ts. Do: eat healthy foods, in their season, and in moderation. Don’t: Drink strong drinks (alcohol), hot drinks (coffee and tea), or use drugs unwisely (legal and illegal). If you want to be healthy, follow this counsel and add to it exercise and preventative check-ups.
Family time. The family is the central unit of society and of the church. Church leaders have encouraged us to have “Family Home Evenings” once a week (Mondays), family prayer and scripture study daily, and engage in family activities often. Nothing comes before the family (except our own personal relationships with God), not even Church activities or functions. Have family dinners as often as possible. Talk to your children/parents openly. Doing so will strengthen your family which will, in turn, help school work, self-esteem, friendships, trust, careers–everything. When a family is strong and children know that they can rely on their parents, that relieves a great burden from them and they can use their energy to excel.

There are more, but these are the things that our prophets have been advising us to do with the most fervor lately. They may seem like common sense, but how many of them do you really do? Those who follow this counsel are blessed to be happy, healthy, and prepared for the future. I encourage you to do it too. And if it seems unlikely that we would have a contemporary prophet in our time, remember that that is what Noah’s contemporaries thought too. And look where it got them.